Appearance
''Corchorus olitorius'' is an erect herbaceous plant, fairly branched and grows about 1.5 metres high. However, if grown for fibre production, it can reach heights up to 4 m . The taproot leads to a sturdy and hairless stem, which is green with a faint red-brownish hue and sometimes turns a little woody on ground level. The serrate acute leaves alternate, are 6 to 10 centimetres long and 2 to 4 cm wide. The plant carries the flowers solitary or in two-flowered cymes opposite of the leaf. The flowers sit on the end of a short stem, count 5 sepals, 5 petals and 10 free and yellow stamina. The fruit is spindle-shaped, dehiscent and divided into transversal sections through five valves. The fruit measures 2 to 8 cm in length and colors vary from greyish-blue to green or brownish-black. Every seed chamber contains 25 to 40 seeds, which sum up to 125 to 200 seeds per fruit.
Cultural
In classical antiquity, Pliny recorded that jute plants were used as food in ancient Egypt. It may have also been cultivated by the Jews in the Near East, which gives the plant its name.References:
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